The Crimson battle vehicles had already come to a stop. Fully armed Exploration Guards disembarked one after another, silently spreading into every corner of the camp, their crimson single-soldier combat armor covering them from head to toe.
"Tut, Director Zhou's reputation truly precedes him." Yuan Chenyang stood nearby, speaking in a mocking tone.
"Cough..." Zhou Xian coughed twice after glancing at the expressionless Zhang Hongbo.
Hu Xiang finally came to his senses. He hurriedly turned to Zhang Hongbo and asked respectfully, "City Lord, why are you here?"
Zhang Hongbo spoke calmly. "We received word that the Fortress Guards in Area A2 had gone missing. I was worried you might be in danger."
"The Fortress Guards went missing!" Hu Xiang's heart skipped a beat, and realization dawned on him. "No wonder we were attacked twice in a row."
"You handled things well..." Zhang Hongbo looked toward the piled corpses in the distance, somewhat surprised.
"An Azure-Scaled Lion pack? The leader should have been a second-tier mutant. Not only did you repel them, but you inflicted such heavy casualties too. Captain Hu, you've been hiding your abilities well."
The others could not help looking toward the pile of corpses at one side of the camp. Yuan Chenyang and Zhou Xian's expressions both changed, concern surfacing on their faces.
Hu Xiang's heart stirred, and he said with a bitter smile, "The City Lord has sharp eyes. That leader was indeed a second-tier mutant, but we have the students of Southwind Academy to thank for these corpses, especially..."
"No need to be so modest." Zhang Hongbo waved him off without giving it much thought. He knew perfectly well what those students were capable of.
Hu Xiang grew anxious. He had wanted to pique Zhang Hongbo's curiosity, then bring up Su Chen. That way, Zhou Xian would have a harder time causing trouble later.
But unexpectedly, this City Lord seemed uninterested in the details.
"What were the casualties?" Yuan Chenyang could not help asking.
Hu Xiang said helplessly, "Twelve lightly injured, seven seriously injured... and one dead."
"Alas..." Zhang Hongbo sighed. "See that the family is properly compensated. They were all heroes of the City Patrol Guard."
"The one who died wasn't from the City Patrol Guard." Hu Xiang lowered his head, his throat bobbing.
"Not from the City Patrol Guard? A student?" Zhang Hongbo's gaze sharpened, but then he shook his head and sighed. "This isn't your fault. No one could have expected the Fortress Guards to go missing."
"Which student died? I'll personally visit the family and offer my condolences," he asked.
Only then did Hu Xiang slowly raise his head, his gaze passing beyond Zhang Hongbo.
Seeing Hu Xiang looking at him, Zhou Xian's heart jolted. A terrible premonition immediately rose within him.
"It was... Zhou Zong..." Hu Xiang said the name with difficulty.
"What!?" Zhou Xian's pupils contracted. Blazing lightning burst from his body, and thunder exploded above the camp, illuminating his twisted face.
"What did you say!?" He stared fixedly at Hu Xiang, his roar booming like thunder. "My son was only one step away from becoming a professional. He wasn't some ordinary person. So many people inferior to him survived, yet he was the only one who died."
"Hu Xiang, did you do this on purpose!?"
As his words fell, the sky suddenly brightened. A bolt of lightning tore through the mist like an arrow fired by a god and crashed toward Hu Xiang.
"Stop!"
Zhang Hongbo appeared beside Hu Xiang. With a simple raise of his hand, the lightning vanished into his palm without a trace.
"City Lord!" Zhou Xian roared. His hair flew wildly, and he looked like a mad old lion, arcs of electricity surging in his eyes.
"I said, stop!" Zhang Hongbo's eyes remained utterly calm.
In the end, reason suppressed Zhou Xian. The arcs of electricity around him gradually faded, and he panted heavily like an old ox, his pupils bloodshot.
Once he had calmed down, Zhang Hongbo's tone softened as well. "There will be an explanation for this, but if you kill Hu Xiang, how will he explain anything?"
Rustling sounds came from all around as people emerged from the tents one after another. The commotion had awakened quite a few people, while some had not been asleep to begin with.
"P-Principal!?"
Some students burst into tears on the spot, as though they had found someone to rely on.
"It's all right now." Zhang Hongbo comforted them gently, and soft sobbing spread through the crowd.
Zhou Xian's voice was hoarse. "Where is my son's body?"
Hu Xiang sighed even more heavily and pointed at a tent in the distance.
Zhang Hongbo nodded to himself. Hu Xiang had handled this part well, at least. He had arranged a separate tent for the body.
Zhou Xian entered with a grief-stricken expression.
But he rushed back out moments later, his face trembling as he glared at Hu Xiang with wide, furious eyes and gritted teeth. "Th-this, whose tent is this!?"
Yet deep in his eyes was a trace of panic, carefully concealed.
There were still many daily necessities inside. It was obviously not a tent specially set aside for a corpse.
Zhang Hongbo looked at Hu Xiang, the corner of his eye twitching.
The students who had already come out exchanged looks, communicating with their eyes.
"Mine." A clear voice rang out, and Zhou Xian's gaze instantly locked onto its source.
"It's you!!" Zhou Xian roared furiously.
Su Chen's heart stirred. This guy actually knew me? Even if I had a small conflict with his son, someone like him would not necessarily pay attention to me.
Yuan Chenyang raised an eyebrow. It was this kid. He remembered him somewhat.
He could not make sense of the situation and did not speak rashly. It was strange enough that the corpse had appeared in this kid's tent.
This is his tent, so whose tent did he come out of?
Wait!
Yuan Chenyang's eyes bulged as he saw Bai Fengxi emerge from the tent right behind Su Chen.
"Little Bai!?" He widened his eyes, and hostility appeared in the way he looked at Su Chen.
"Teacher!"
However, before Yuan Chenyang could finish processing his thoughts, he saw the kid look solemnly at him.
Teacher? Who? Who was his teacher?
Yuan Chenyang looked around. It seemed that only he remained.
This kid was shifting the blame onto him?
Yuan Chenyang was far too shrewd. He immediately understood the kid's intentions, and what little favorable impression he had of him vanished.
He sneered inwardly. You might be able to fool Little Bai, but can you fool me?
Facing Zhou Xian's suppressed fury and Zhang Hongbo's suspicious gaze,
Yuan Chenyang's intended rebuke caught in his throat, because the kid before him took out a thin, faintly glowing "iron sheet," countless symbols constantly flowing across it. Holding it before himself, Su Chen said in a deep voice, "Mission accomplished!"
Zhang Hongbo's eyes instantly became profound, while Zhou Xian's body stiffened.
"The Holy Word Stone!" Yuan Chenyang's expression changed drastically as he stared at the object in Su Chen's hand.
It was the item stolen from Southwind Academy—the Holy Word Stone, the thing they had failed to find even after cutting the thief into pieces!
"Following your orders, I secretly investigated within the City Patrol Guard. I lived up to your trust and finally found this item."
So this thing is called the Holy Word Stone? It doesn't look like a stone at all, Su Chen muttered inwardly. His voice was loud enough for everyone to hear.
Hu Xiang blinked, completely bewildered. Did that Qi Chuan know about this?
The other students felt dizzy. Su Chen was Yuan Chenyang's student too? No wonder, no wonder...
The words "Who is your teacher?" stuck in Yuan Chenyang's throat, and he could not say them no matter what.
The importance of this item to him went without saying. With it, he could finally give Yingfeng an explanation.
And Su Chen's words had been phrased cleverly. This made it seem as though Yuan Chenyang had not been toyed with by the thief, but had instead noticed the anomaly long ago and laid plans from afar.
The price was taking on Zhou Xian's fury.
He looked at the person before him, then past him toward Bai Fengxi behind him. She gave an imperceptible nod.
"Good kid." Yuan Chenyang suddenly burst into laughter, strode forward, and fiercely gripped Su Chen's shoulder. "Just as expected of... my student!"
The corner of Su Chen's mouth twitched. It felt like his bones were about to crack.
This kid's body is... impressive. He's already a professional? Yuan Chenyang was rather surprised.
"Not bad, Chenyang. Planning from afar indeed. As expected of the head of Southwind City's Inspection Department." Zhang Hongbo withdrew his gaze from the Holy Word Stone and praised him.
"What does that have to do with my son's corpse being in your tent?" Zhou Xian asked coldly, but everyone noticed that his anger seemed to have diminished considerably.
"Because this thing was found on Zhou Xian," Su Chen said. His voice was not loud, yet it struck like a thunderclap.
Yuan Chenyang, who was examining the item's authenticity, abruptly looked up and stared at Su Chen. The sharpness in his eyes nearly burst forth. "You cannot speak nonsense about something like this."
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